Guest Profiles

95% of incidents of violence in India are committed by men. To understand the mindset behind these rising numbers and how the traditional notions of masculinity are affecting all of us we spoke to a number of families, activists and men themselves.

Mahendra Singh and Aradhna Singh lost their son Aakash to an incident of road rage in Delhi. Two bikers, a boy and his father, ruthlessly beat him up with the father encouraging his son to continue the violence. Mr and Mrs Singh live in Delhi today with their three younger children. Till date, they have not received justice for Aakash’s murder.

Sub Maj (PNA) Triveni Sahai Gangwar is an armyman based in Pune. His son Amit was subjected to ragging when he was a student of the Dr B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology in Jalandhar in 2005. Amit lost his life soon after. Mr Sahai continues his fight to get justice for Amit.

Gaurav Singhal is the National Coordinator and the RTI Cell Head at Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE). Perturbed by the murder of a medical student during ragging in year 2009, he joined the NGO and over the last few years, has been instrumental in helping the organization multiply its reach manifold. From helping ragging victims get protection and justice, filing RTIs to ask government for action, and establishing communication with colleges across India to promote anti-ragging measures, Gaurav has tried to bring in a positive change in the country towards the elimination of ragging. Email:
| Website: www.no2ragging.org

Vipin Bhati grew up in Noida and as a child, he was taught to imbibe the rigid notions of masculinity, often having to prove his fearlessness and ‘manliness’ at a young age. He managed to break free from these notions, graduating as a sound engineer from the Film and Television Institute of India in 1997. Since then, he has been the Location Sound Mixer for many feature and documentary films like Jodhaa Akbar, War and Peace, etc. He has also worked as a writer on TV shows such as Satyamev Jayate and Bombay Lawyers. Email:

Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi grew up in Uttar Pradesh where he saw unequal relationships between men and women, with the men being stronger, violent and controlling of the women. He chose a different path for himself and went on to become one of the founding members of People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, a Varanasi-based NGO which works for the upliftment of the marginalized sections of the society. He is also a Dalit rights activist. Email:
| Website: www.pvchr.asia

Chhindrapal Sankhla, Ram Mehar and Madan Bharti work for equal rights for men and women. They were brought up with the thinking that women are inferior to men but after they were sensitized on gender and related issues, their attitudes changed. Mr Mehar and Mr Bharti are activists with an organization called SEARCH today, and aim to make many other men more sensitive and responsible.

Laxmi is a recipient of the International Women of Courage Award (2014), given to her by Michelle Obama, for raising awareness to end acid attacks within India. When Laxmi was 16, her brother’s friend threw acid on her face at a bus stop because she had turned down his romantic advances. After eight years of trying to cover up her injuries and multiple surgeries to try to reverse as much damage as possible, the death of her father triggered Laxmi into action. She brought her case to court, even filing a petition with the Supreme Court in India to ban the sale of acid. As a result of her work, the Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to regulate the sale of acid and a law was enacted to heighten the punishments for perpetrators of acid attacks. Laxmi’s efforts to gain compensation, counselling and protection for victims continue with the help of the ‘Stop Acid Attacks’ campaign, which she is an active member of. Email:
| Website: www.stopacidattacks.org

Alok Dixit is a journalist-turned-social activist. He is the founder member of ‘Save Your Voice’, a movement against internet censorship in India and the 'Stop Acid Attacks' campaign, which raises voices against acid attacks and helps survivors rebuild their lives. Email:
| Website: www.stopacidattacks.org

Kamla Bhasin, a trained social scientist, has been actively engaged with issues related to development, education, gender and media since 1970. Currently, she works with SANGAT– a South Asian Feminist Network, JAGORI, Women’s Resource and Training Centre, Jagori Rural Charitable Trust and SAHR (South Asians for Human Rights) as an active member. She has also been conducting gender sensitization workshops for senior NGO leaders and managers, government officials, police personnel, and members of Parliament in different countries of South Asia. Ms Bhasin has also written a large number of books, songs and slogans for the women’s movement and has created many posters and banners for different movements. Email:
| Website: www.sangatsouthasia.org

Atul Agnihotri and Arundhati Agnihotri live in Pune with their daughter Mrunmayee. Stressed due to his heavy workload, Mr Agnihotri started drinking and soon, became an alcoholic. In order to rid himself of this habit, around 15 years ago, he left his job and decided to stay at home while Mrs Agnihotri works in an insurance company. He is a proud house husband today and is living a happy life with his family. Email:

Mahadev Bajbalkar and Lata Bajbalkar live in Solapur district of Maharashtra. Until a few years ago, theirs was an unequal marriage, as Mr Bajbalkar was taught from his childhood that men can treat their wives in any manner they wish to. After working with an NGO that aims to change these attitudes in men, he apologized for his doings and now considers his wife as his partner, his companion. They are happily married today.

Omprakash Chhoker lives in Karnal district, Haryana, where he is a police sub-inspector. Mr Chhoker is among the first in his community to have a daughter (Vandana) who is a post-graduate. Vandana was insistent on being allowed to study further and her father made this possible, thus giving his son and his daughter an equal opportunity to realize their potential. Today, Vandana is a banker and is considered an asset by her family. Email:

Dr Abhijit Das is Director of Centre for Health and Social Justice, a policy research and advocacy institution around health and human rights and men and gender equality in India. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S.A. He has also been involved in setting up a network of men known as Men’s Action for Stopping Violence Against Women. Email:
| Website: www.chsj.org

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